Slate, Carlyle Group plan for 88-unit LIC condo building

UPDATED, 11:16 a.m., Nov. 21: Slate Property Group, in partnership with private-equity giant the Carlyle Group, filed permits today to construct a condominium building in Long Island City that would span nearly 87,000 square feet, according to Department of Buildings records.

The eight-story property at 21-21 44th Drive, near the 23rd Street and Court Square subway stations, is slated to include 88 apartments and a 35-car underground parking garage. The residential component would cover 85,349 square feet. Plans also call for 1,363 square feet for commercial use.

The site currently holds a two-story, 45,000-square-foot office property and a 6,000-square-foot parking lot. Slate and Carlyle signed a contract in April to pay between $20 million and $25 million for the site, sources close to the deal said. The deal is expected to close by early 2015.

The lot is zoned for as-of-right residential use, Slate’s David Schwartz told The Real Deal.

“There are so many rentals in Long Island City at really high prices,” Schwartz said. “It’s easy to sell condos in that market.”

Slate, a Midtown-based development firm led by Martin Nussbaum and Schwartz, recently picked up the residential component of an East Village building for $26 million, with plans to convert it from college dorm rooms to rentals, as TRD reported.

Slate and Carlyle, as well as Capstone Equities, are also developing a 19-story, 160,000-square-foot apartment building in Downtown Brooklyn, as previously reported.